League A
| first_season = 1979-80 | folded = | teams = 16 | levels = 1 | promotion_to = | relegation_to = League B | domest_cup = SGFA Cup SGFA Shield | intl_cup = CONCACAF Champions League CONCACAF Liga América | champions = Helena United (1st title) (2018-19) | most_champs = Bonneville United (11 titles) | most_caps = | top_goalscorer = | tv_partner = emsport (Local) beIN Sports (U.S.) | current = 2019-20 League A season }} League A (known as the SGFA League A or Gregorian League A outside St. Gregory, and currently known as SGEnergy League A due to a naming rights sponsorship deal with the St. Gregory Energy Company) is the top professional league for men's association football clubs in St. Gregory. It is contested by 16 clubs and operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the St. Gregory Football Association. The league was known as the SGFA Championship from its inception in 1979 until 1985, when a second tier was established and named League B. Seasons run from September to May, with teams playing 30 matches each (playing every other team in the league twice; once at home and once away), for a total of 240 matches per season. To date, 40 seasons have been played. A total of 12 clubs have won the league; of those, 11 clubs are still active and 8 are currently in League A – the active past winners not in the league are Winston Beach (League B), Petit-Rouge (League B) and CGC Red Stars (League C). Helena United are the defending League A champions. Bonneville United's 11 league championships are the most by any club. History Origins Prior to the foundation of the SGFA and the establishment of a professional league, two amateur leagues existed in St. Gregory: the League of Northern St. Gregory (LNSG; est. 1963), the first organized football competition in the territory, and the League of Southern St. Gregory (LSSG; est. 1964), which was founded as a response to the LNSG not including teams from French-speaking communities in St. Gregory. The growth of the sport in nearby countries like Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago prompted a move for St. Gregory to establish a national competition to develop local talent and increase the overall profile of Gregorian football. To this end, meetings between players, businessmen and club representatives first took place in Warner Bay in June 1978. SGFA Championship years (1979-1985) The competition known today as League A formed as the SGFA Championship on January 12, 1979, the same date as the foundation of the St. Gregory Football Association. The SGFA announced that the first season of the Championship would feature six clubs, with a view to future expansion and the introduction of a second division by 1985. The six clubs selected would be made up of three from the LNSG – Cape Wells Wanderers, Little Rouge and Zane Hills – and three from the LSSG – East Bonneville, North Bonneville and West Bonneville. The first season, 1979-80, commenced on October 20, 1979. East Bonneville defeated Little Rouge 2-1 at Parc Bourgogne in Macon in the league's inaugural match. Teams played each other four times, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 20 matches per team. North Bonneville finished as champions in the inaugural season, with East Bonneville finishing runners up. The league expanded to eight teams in 1981 with the addition of two newly-founded clubs, FC Chapman and Manorham. League A (1985-present) The league was renamed League A in 1985 when the SGFA added six more teams, all of whom were placed in the newly-formed League B. The 1985-86 season would be the first to adopt the promotion and relegation system, with one team from League A being demoted to League B, and the champions of League B earning promotion for the following season. Competition format There are 16 clubs in League A. During the course of a season (from October to May), each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 30 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. At the end of each season, the team with the most points is crowned League A champion. If points are equal, goal difference and then goals scored are used as tiebreakers to determine the winner. If teams are still tied for either the league championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a playoff match at a neutral venue decides rank. The two lowest placed teams are relegated to League B, and the top two teams from League B are promoted in their place. The third-lowest placed team in League A will play a single match at a neutral venue against the winner of the playoffs involving the third and fourth placed League B clubs. The winner of this match will take the final place in the following League A season. Changes in league structure Number of teams * 1979-80 to 1980-81: 6 * 1981-82 to 1987-88: 8 * 1988-89 to 1992-93: 10 * 1993-94 to 1996-97: 12 * Since 1997-98: 16 Number of teams relegated (automatic relegation except as noted) * 1979-80 to 1984-85: None (no lower league existed) * 1985-86 to 1986-87: 1 * 1987-88: None (league expanded) * 1988-89 to 1991-92: 2 * 1992-93: None (league expanded) * 1993-94 to 1995-96: 2 * 1996-97: None (league expanded) * 1997-98 to 1999-2000: 2 * 2000-01 to 2008-09: 3 * Since 2009-10: 2 automatic plus the 14th-place team in League A playing a relegation match against the playoff winner from League B Clubs 2019-20 season The following 16 clubs will compete in League A during the 2019-20 season. * Swifton Athletic and Union Town were relegated to League B for the 2019-20 season, while PSC Pirates and Otway Town, as winners and runners-up respectively, were promoted from the 2018-19 League B season. * Manorham defeated Winston Beach in the playoff between the 14th-placed team in League A and the playoff semi-final winner from League B. Manorham were promoted to League A for 2019-20, while Winston Beach were relegated to League B. :a Founding member of League A :b Never been relegated from League A Former clubs The following clubs will not compete in League A during the 2019-20 season, but have previously competed in either the SGFA Championship or League A for at least one season. :a Founding member of League A Players Squad formation and foreign players The League A matchday squad includes the typical 11 players and seven substitutes, of which one must be a goalkeeper. Prior to the 2013-14 season, only five substitutes (including one goalkeeper) were allowed to be named. League A squads must comprise a minimum 20 players with a maximum of 30, subject to several limitations: * Within the squad there can be a maximum of 8 foreign players (up from 7 prior to 2019-20), i.e. from outside the United States and its territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Gregory and the United States Virgin Islands) who hold a temporary working visa. Players who hold dual citizenship with the United States and another country, as well as players who hold permanent residency in the United States by naturalization (i.e., "green card" holders), do not count towards the cap on foreign players. * Of the players from United States territories, at least 8 must be Gregorian nationals (i.e., permanent residents of St. Gregory). * At least two players must be 21 years of age or younger. Transfer regulations Players may only be transferred during transfer windows that are set by the St. Gregory Football Association. The two current transfer windows run from the last day of the season to August 31 and from December 31 to January 31, or the following Monday should either end date fall on a weekend. Player registrations cannot be exchanged outside these windows except under specific license from the SGFA, usually on an emergency basis. Support As the top professional league in St. Gregory, League A enjoys tremendous support across the territory. Perception in other countries During the 1990s, as more players began arriving in League A from around the world, the league's worldwide profile began to build. Today, League A matches are shown across the Caribbean and in over 20 other countries through partnerships with various sports networks, including beIN Sports in the United States and Canada, and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. Relationship with Major League Soccer By the time the United States had officially formed a top-division professional association football league – Major League Soccer – in February 1995, League A was midway through its 16th season and St. Gregory had been a United States territory for over 10 years. As such, most Americans living in St. Gregory continued to follow League A as their preferred league, even as MLS matches began showing on cable television in St. Gregory. Surveys of American-Gregorian football fans revealed several key reasons for this, chief among them the established reputation of League A and the rules deviations used by MLS in its early years to sell the sport to American fans, such as a countdown clock for timekeeping and the use of shootouts to resolve tie games. Many American-Gregorians do follow MLS teams; matches between MLS and League A clubs, particularly in CONCACAF Champions League play, are well attended. However, many League A fans whose ancestry does not go through the United States are alienated to MLS, regarding it at a level below – and less authentic a football league than – local competition. At an organizational level, the SGFA and MLS are conflicted on several issues, including MLS' single entity system versus the SGFA acting as an association of independently-owned clubs; promotion and relegation (which MLS does not use); and the conference and playoff structure utilized by MLS which is common in American sports leagues but not in soccer. The enormity of the United States' population (and thus, the talent pool), as well as Americans not counting against Gregorian clubs' foreign player cap, means many Americans play in St. Gregory. By contrast, instances of Gregorian players playing in MLS are comparitively rare, particularly as local academies in St. Gregory are quick to develop young players at an early age before they can enter the U.S. collegiate system, where MLS draws much of its talent from. Champions :See also: List of Gregorian football champions Category:League A Category:SGFA competitions